Teenage Diaries - 'The woman'

Every guy during his teenage comes across women who remain in his mind forever. Some of them for their sex appeal, some for their physical beauty, some for their magical eyes, some for their smile and some simply because they are unforgettable. It was in 1995 that I first saw this woman.  She was tall, slim and had curves that could put a precision geometric compass to shame.

Right from the school going adolescent till the old men, al of them used to ogle at her as she graced the streets of my colony. Scooters would slow down, bicycles would stop to look at the wonder that walked the streets. But the most unbelievable thing about her was, she had a son in secondary school. And her daughter, was in high school. Nobody would have ever belived it.

Anyway, soon her daughter grew up and was in college. In the evenings, when the mother and daughter, one more beautiful than the other seemed like two sisters. Many youngsters, from all classes of the society were now behind this girl. Everybody wanted to give her a lift, befriend her, propose to her and a few, just wanted to see her. But then, she never responded to any of them. In this matter, she was as strict as God was on himself, while he crafted her.

From about 2003 onwards, I started spending less time in the colony. I had an MBA to deal with. Only ocassionally, the mother or the daughter or both together were seen - but when they did, they lived up to their reputation. One day in 2004, my last year in the colony, I got a news that the girl was getting married. On 26th December, the day Tsunami struck, we moved out of the colony. I never saw any of them again.

Yesterday, I was getting late to office and there was a huge traffic jam, I took a short cut from inside my good old colony. And coincidentally, turned inside the same lane where they lived. For just one second, when I glanced towards their home, I saw, a very cute young lad, about three years old swinging on the rusty gate which made a creaking sound. And feeding him morsels, was his mother. And standing by their side, was his grandmother. Both of them still looked like sisters. The daughter may have gained a few negligible pounds in course of her motherhood. But the grandmother, was exactly as she looked in 1995. There was no change. None whatsoever.

The only change was that the way I looked at them had changed. Now, a shabbily colored excel sheet was running in my head. I turned my head and drove away.